Taking Grandma to Paris

I am planning a month in Paris in October and I just found out that my Grandmother, age 84 will be coming over for a week along with my Mother. Grandma is always a bundle of fun. She is young at heart and loves music and dancing (has a hisory in music/entertainment), and she can get around very well for her age. But, to be honest I rarely see that many elderly people visiting Paris. Am I just not looking?

I am a little concerned because she won%26#39;t know any French, can be a real chatter box and I can just see her rambling on in English to anyone who looks her way. She may be in for a culture shock, as she has never left the states before. Also, do you think she may be more prone to pick-pockets? She has tendancy to be care-free and look it as well.

I appreciate any suggestions from those who have traveled with someone this age. She would love jazz clubs, but how do you think she will be treated as an elderly woman?? She loves to dance and in just the past few years has been able to dance us all under the table until the wee hours of the night!

Thanks for any suggestions on what to do with Grandma!

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Dear Waytogogirl:

From what you write, it sounds like your Grandma will do quite well in Paris. From what I know of the French, they respect their elders, and aren%26#39;t ashamed of them. That%26#39;s one of the things I like most about Europe-it is all enclusive, and not just an enclave for the young. When you sit out in a square on a fine evening, there is a whole mix of ages, which makes being there very comfortable.

So relax and hopefully your Grandma will have the time of her life!

Bon chance and bon voyage.

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Your grandmother sounds like a lovely lady and as mentioned before Parisians respect their elders and treat the young at heart more kindly than the rest (speaking of my experience travelling around Europe with my young at heart father).

As for your concern about pick-pockets, search on the net for alternatives to the traditional handbag for your grandmother, get her input and get her something less obtrusive... in the least, have her walk between you and your mother, also when sitting in cafes or restaurants make sure to have your/her handbag in your/her lap not slinging behind your chair or in the chair next to you.

The only other thing you may need to be a bit more careful with is staying away from certain metro stations that have endless (what seems to be) stairs. Eventhough my father (knock on wood) is healthy and walks several miles a day, those stairs bothered his knees.

Other than that, so very lucky that you get to enjoy Paris with both your mother and grandmother.

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WTG, looks like a board burp posted this twice. I responded to your other thread, so do a search so you see it. :)

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My now 82-year-old parents spent 10 days with us in Seville in 2004. In a nutshell, Europeans are patient and indulgent with older folks. I was stunned when waiters who had given us desultory service for two months fawned over my mother and father, and shopkeepers talked their ear off (my father doesn%26#39;t speak Spanish, he just nods and smiles). Postscript: my mother turned eighty in Seville and that same restaurant dimmed the lights, regaled her with feliz cumpleanos and gave us a cake + free bottle of champagne. Best present: the waiter whispered something a little naughty in my mother%26#39;s ear. (She%26#39;ll never tell.)